Tag Archives: writer

Fantasy Fiction in Red, White, and Blue

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At the Huffington Post, Rebecca Serle interviews Newberry Prize winning author Kathi Appelt, specifically on the subject of American Fantasy.   Not fantasy fiction written by Americans, but fantasy fiction that draws on American locales and imagery.

Regular readers know that I have been all over this like a bear on a beehive with my Story Behind the Story series, explaining how I wanted to step away from the elves and swords and write fantasy that drew on American imagery and textual artifacts the way Tolkien drew on northern European imagery and textual artifacts.

Appelt could not echo my sentiments more clearly than when she says: Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll, Observer | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Archaic Definition of the Week – Sixes and Sevens

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publishingSIXES AND SEVENS. Left at sixes and sevens: i.e. in confusion; commonly said of a room where the furniture is scattered about; or of a business left unsettled.

– 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue : A Dictionary of British Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence (unabridged) compiled originally by Captain Grose

Category: ADOTW | Tags: , ,

Literary Agent Links – Misconceptions, Cognitive Bias, and Demons

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Oh, we have a big ol’ bunch o’ literary agent links this week, my friends.

FYI: Jessica at BookEnds will not consider representing you for an up-front payment in lieu of or in addition to a commission, and she probably won’t click a link to a video query, but she will answer a lot of questions about submitting a partial.

At Dystel & Goderich, Jane explains how the submission process works, Miriam throws in her two cents about thrillers, and Jessica dismisses a few misconceptions about publishing.

Nathan Bransford dives into hard-sell query letter subject lines, answers ten questions about self-publishing, and points out the literary impact of one of my favorite cognitive biases: the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

Janet Reid reminds us to be careful with queries and death threats, while Nathan Henrion wonders if fiction writers can mimic musical artists.

Finally, the Rejectionist discusses recent demonic rejections, while Rachelle Gardner discusses freelance editors and how long the process takes from submission to hitting the shelves.

Category: Blogroll | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In Defense of Coffee Shop Writers

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This morning, I am sitting here in the Jolt’n Bolt Coffee and Tea House.  My laptop is hooked up to the free Wi-Fi and I am online working on my WIP short story.  Ah, living the cliché!

I realize that what I’m doing is the premise of a thousand cynical jokes about writers writing in public.  The point of writing in public is to be seen writing, right?  So that some non-writer will notice us and maybe — please please pleeeease — ask us what we’re writing!?

Well, let me tell you about Jolt’n Bolt early on a Saturday morning.  A few people come in, grab a coffee, and head right back out.  There weren’t more than a couple people in here at a time until around 0830.  The only attention I’ve gotten was from the fine employees behind the counter and one customer’s curious beagle.

This is cool with me, because I don’t write in public to be seen by the public, and I resent (just a lil bit) the amateur psychoanalysis behind the presumption that I am here to engage in writing-as-conversation-starter.  And, I bet I’m not the only writer who feels this way, so let me kick this dismissive stereotype in the shins for a moment.

Continue reading →

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Archaic Definition of the Week – Funk

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publishingFunk. In a funk or blue funk, To be. The word may derive from Old French funkier, ‘to smoke’, though the connection is uncertain.  A funk is a state of apprehensive fear or abject fear.  The word first appeared at Oxford in the first half of the 18th Century.

“If I was going to be flogged next minute, I should be in a blue funk.” – THOMAS HUGHES: Tom Brown’s Schooldays, Pt I, ch ii (1857)

– Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, Sixteenth Edition revised by Adrian Room.

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